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haiti country, haiti earthquake, haiti, haiti news, haiti earthquakes, haiti in world map , Haiti Hit by Powerful Earthquake; Buildings Damaged

Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, was shaken by a powerful earthquake near the capital that destroyed a hospital, a school and the presidential palace, raising fears thousands have been killed.
The 7.0-magnitude temblor hit 10 miles (15 kilometers) southwest of Port-au-Prince, a city of about 2 million inhabitants, at 4:53 p.m. New York time, the U.S. Geological Survey said on its Web site. Several aftershocks with a magnitude above 5 have since struck the area, according to USGS.
Raymond Joseph, the country’s ambassador to the U.S., told CNN that the quake had caused a major catastrophe. Communications to much of the country were cut off, and there were no official reports of casualties immediately available.
Port-au-Prince is in “total chaos,” with clouds of dust from collapsed buildings choking the city and fears that thousands may be dead, said Robyn Fieser, a spokeswoman with the Catholic Relief Services in Baltimore, who took reports from representatives in Haiti. Fieser said there are concerns that looting might break out tonight amid electricity outages.
A school with children inside collapsed in Port-au- Prince, according to Unicef. A hospital was destroyed in Petionville, an upscale district near the capital city, and people were screaming for help, the Associated Press reported. CNN, citing Haiti’s first lady, reported that the presidential palace had partially collapsed, though President Rene Preval is safe.
Citigroup Inc.’s office building in Port-au-Prince collapsed, CNN en Espanol reported, citing a company official. Jon Diat, a Citigroup spokesman, said in an e-mail he couldn’t confirm anything.
U.S. Embassy employees reported seeing a number of bodies in the street, but the extent of casualties is unknown, State Department Spokesman Philip J. Crowley said in a briefing today.
“There’s going to be serious loss of life,” Crowley said.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the U.S. is offering full assistance to Haiti.
“We will be providing both civilian and military disaster relief and humanitarian assistance,” Clinton said during remarks in Honolulu. “And our prayers are with the people who have suffered, their families, and their loved ones.”
Houses slipped down hills, walls collapsed and landslides have left roads blocked, which will impede any response by authorities, Ian Rodgers, a senior emergency adviser at Save the Children in Port-au-Prince, said in an interview on CNN. People are digging through rubble to find loved ones, Rodgers said.
“There are clearly people that are under a great deal of distress and trying to work out what to do,” he said on CNN.


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